Overview

We follow Stewart Gilmour as he returns to the Scottish coastal town of Stonemouth for the funeral of the Murston family patriarch. Five years earlier, Stewart fled after betraying the family his fiancée belonged to, walking away from love, loyalty, and safety. Back in town, he is forced to face old friends, old enemies, and a past that never forgot him. What looks like a brief visit quickly becomes a confrontation with everything he tried to escape.

Voice & Atmosphere

We found the atmosphere thick with threat beneath everyday familiarity. Banks captures the rhythms of a small Scottish port town with ease, where casual banter can turn sharp in a moment. The sea, the pubs, and the tight streets all add to a sense that Stewart is being watched. Nostalgia and menace sit side by side, making even friendly encounters feel risky.

Characters

Stewart is a sympathetic but compromised lead, pulled between who he was and who he wants to be. His former fiancée Ellie remains central to his emotional conflict, representing both love and danger. The Murston and MacAvett families loom over the story, shaping events through reputation, violence, and unspoken rules. We felt the town itself acts as a character, judging Stewart at every turn.

Themes

Stonemouth explores what it means to leave home and what it costs to return. The novel looks closely at guilt, loyalty, and revenge, especially in places where everyone remembers your worst moment. We saw strong questions about whether people can really change, or whether the roles given to them early on are impossible to shed.

What Worked

• Sense of place: the town feels authentic, tight-knit, and quietly dangerous.
• Emotional tension: Stewart’s past relationships drive the plot as much as crime.
• Genre blend: crime drama, love story, and personal reckoning sit together comfortably.

Minor Quibbles

• The shifts between humour, romance, and violence can feel uneven at times.
• Some elements will feel familiar to readers well versed in Banks’ Scottish settings.

Final Thoughts

We found Stonemouth tense and absorbing, a story where coming home is never safe and the past refuses to stay buried beneath the tide.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)